The 'hype horse' Sprinter Sacre lived up to his pre-Cheltenham Festival billing to secure a record-equalling win for his trainer
Sprinter Sacre was often referred to as "the hype horse" during the buildup to this week's Festival but his astonishing performance in winning the Arkle Trophy suggested that, if anything, his ability has been understated. He coasted around this most demanding of racecourses to score by seven lengths and become the 40th Festival winner for his trainer, Nicky Henderson, equalling the record.
As in his previous runs over fences, Sprinter Sacre never appeared less than entirely comfortable. This was his greatest test so far but victory was on the cards from the moment his main rival, Al Ferof, made a hash of the fourth-last.
From that point, the crowd cheered at every fence that Sprinter Sacre cleared, large numbers of them having clearly backed him at odds-on. There might have been a moment's anxiety as Cue Card got within a couple of lengths at the final fence but the winner pulled clear within seconds of being asked to quicken by his jockey, Barry Geraghty.
"He's a thrill a minute," said Geraghty, who was previously associated with another top-class two-mile chaser, Moscow Flyer. Such was that horse's popularity it would have been hard to believe at the time that his memory could be eclipsed inside a few short years but the jockey accepts that Sprinter Sacre is more talented and more exciting.
"I've never sat on a horse that could do that," Geraghty said of the way his mount powered downhill towards the home turn. "As a model, he's perfect. If you went to the sales to buy a horse, he is what you look for. He's a show horse."
The orthodox tactics for one who travels so smoothly through his races would be to settle him at the back of the field until the final two furlongs or so but Sprinter Sacre's raw power makes that a difficult proposition. Geraghty has generally found himself hitting the front long before he would have liked but would rather accept the situation than continue to fight his mount's impulse.
"He's not pig-headed. Although he races keenly, he's not aggressive, he's not getting himself into trouble, he's nimble."
"That jumping is quite unreal," said Henderson, who described the horse as taking off a full stride before he had expected at some fences. "That's the way he loves to do it. It is very flashy, very showy but he can afford to do it like that.
"He has so much scope and size but I think more than anything he's just a dreadful show-off. He wants everybody to watch him and it's worth watching."
Sprinter Sacre is confidently expected to be successful when he steps out of novice company next season and the bookmakers will offer no bigger than 2-1 against him for the Champion Chase at the 2013 Festival. He is likely to have one more race before the autumn, at Aintree's Grand National meeting.
Henderson was inclined to play down the significance of his achievement in matching Fulke Walwyn's 40 Festival winners, pointing out that there are many more races at the Festival each year than in Walwyn's day. But it clearly mattered to him and his eyes filled with tears as he recalled serving as assistant trainer to Walwyn's neighbour and great rival, Fred Winter.
"It's nice to do it. I'm rather humbled by it really," he said. "They were heroes when I was at school, so having got to the same number … it means a bit, yeah."
Also caught up in the moment was Christophe Masle, the Frenchman who bred Sprinter Sacre from the first mare he bought and who was making his first visit to England to see the race. Asked for his impression of the Festival, he replied: "C'est grandiose," a description that could equally be applied to the horse.